Harper fails to take high road on Syrian refugee crisis
It is not necessary to set one’s watch on polls to see that Stephen Harper’s business-as-usual reaction to the Syrian refugee issue has missed the political mark. One look at the lineup of critics who are, to put it mildly, underwhelmed by his low-key response to the resettlement needs of hundreds of thousands of Syrian […]
Canada’s got to reach out to help our wounded global community
OTTAWA—Fourteen years have gone by since 9/11—an event so dramatic it set into motion nearly a decade of what many have identified as an unnecessary war. The shooting that took place within our Parliamentary Precinct will have taken place one year ago next month. Each of these horrifying events and others like them have given […]
Harper will be Harper to the bitter end
GATINEAU, QUE.—Despite Stephen Harper’s misfiring campaign, there are still persuadable voters at large—people who regard Justin Trudeau as unserious and Thomas Mulcair as dangerous. But to lure them into his camp, the prime minister must learn to persuade. It is not his , at least not in front of domestic audiences. He prefers to order, […]
The c-word is back in play
OTTAWA—The c-word is back in play. At the beginning of this neverendem campaign, the Liberal Party was trailing in voter intentions and pundits were writing the party off. Conservatives and New Democrats were happy to minimize Justin Trudeau’s gravitas or ignore him altogether. Other than daily carpet-bombing via negative advertisements, Stephen Harper would not even […]
Election 2015: competence versus compassion
OAKVILLE, ONT.—This is going to sound like something “Captain Obvious” might say, but when voters cast their ballots on Oct. 19, they’ll be voting for the guy they think will make the best prime minister. In other words, they’ll forget all that stuff pundits like to obsess on—policies, platforms, issues—and focus instead on that quality […]
Major disconnect between Conservative war room, campaigners
A campaign relying too heavily on the leader at the expense of Cabinet ministers, sticking to script despite its surprising third-place position, and with a “major disconnect” between the war room and campaigners in the field has Conservative insiders worried five weeks from election day. Conservatives The Hill Times reached last week expressed concern […]
Alexander’s Ajax opponents taking aim at minister’s record amidst refugee crisis
The Toronto-area riding of Ajax, where Immigration Minister Chris Alexander is in a tight race with former Liberal MP Mark Holland, might be the national epicenter of the Syrian refugee crisis but those on the ground aren’t convinced that issue alone will swing the riding. Mr. Alexander and the Conservative government have been under fire […]
Harper’s press conferences have added bonus: being heckled by the crowd
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s press conferences in this campaign have so far come with a partisan soundtrack and while all three leaders have kept supporters in the room during their daily press conferences, which is not new, it’s happening a lot more in this election, particularly with the Conservatives, and it’s leaving a bad taste. […]
PS union continues to bargain while campaigning against Conservatives
A major public sector union is in the “uncommon” position of negotiating with government over its collective bargaining agreement during the election campaign even while advocating against the Conservative government through ads and by targeting specific ridings. “It’s quite uncommon for the Treasury Board to want to negotiate during the election period but this time […]
Refugee crisis less damaging to Conservatives than coverage suggests: Innovative Research poll
Despite the media focus on the Syrian refugee crisis and calls for the Conservatives to respond more compassionately, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s party isn’t badly positioned on the issue and it could even present an opportunity, a new survey shows. “It’s not doing the damage that some people might have thought,” pollster Greg Lyle of […]
